Consequenses of a Myth
by Indy1
Summary: Imagine: Mainframe's far future; a far decendant of the Matrix-line; a series of flashbacks to a time long gone and their effects on normal life
1. part i

Consequenses of a Myth, i

**_Consequences of a Myth, part i_**

A large, muscular, green-skinned sprite with black hair was softly whistling while he walked through Floating Point Park. His name was Andrew, and he was heading for the twincity, where he had a date with his girlfriend Matty. He looked towards the Gilded Gate Bridge, the proud, golden bridge that formed the connection between Mainframe and her twincity. There were history files that read of times when there hadn't been a twincity, of times when the Gilded Gate Bridge'd been no more than a collection of horribly twisted iron pillars that connected the ancient Mainframe with a dangerous island, called Lost Angles.  
Those same files spoke of a time when Mainframe had been inhabited by two Viruses, a Guardian who'd survived the Web and two sprites that had lived in the Games.  
Andrew smiled when he thought of those files. They had been hardly readable when he tried to access them, and only his knowledge of languishes had helped him through the aged texts.  
Most of the files had been written by sprite that'd been the Command.Com in those day, a sprite that signed files with Dot Matrix.  
Andrew smiled again. It was almost impossible. The Matrix-family was hardly more then a legend, a myth thought up to keep the Mainframe residents happy with their lives. The times of Viruses were long gone, the Guardian directive had been closed down since and the Web hadn't been a treat since the Sprites were artificially modified with a Web-mode. Circumstances as described in the files were hardly imaginable.

Suddenly, the smile on Andrew's face froze. His eyes grew large, and his breathing quickened. With a scream, he fell on his knees. He grabbed his head, and let out another terrifying scream. Then he went limp and fell down on the gently waving grass of Floating Point Park.

_ Andrew carefully opened his eyes. He appeared to be in the medical sector of the Principal Office. He'd been there before, but it somehow looked different now. He frowned. His head felt fluffy, as if it'd been stuffed with cotton.  
All of a sudden, a door in one of the walls in the room opened. Through it came two fairly unusual sprites. One had a large flexible neck and a Yin-Yang sign on his Icon. The other had similar features, but had a normal Icon and a female appearance. They both wore lab coats, and the female sprite held a clipboard. The two sprites headed towards him, not yet having noticed he was awake.  
'Phong, I still do not understand what you mean about "coming from another dimension". Most of the time I understand you, but sorry, this time I don't.'  
'I know Xera. But that doesn't matter, when we find time, I'll explain it to you.' The Sprite tilted his head. 'How about tonight?' he said with a wink.  
The other Sprite gave him a gentle slap on the back of the head. 'No indecent proposals, Phong, or I'll break our engagement...'  
Andrew sank back into a deep unconsciousness._

'Andrew? Andrew!' Andrew opened his eyes again. He was in a bed in the Principal Office medical sector. It looked like he remembered it again. Hovering above he saw the familiar face of his girlfriend Matty. 'Matty…' he groaned. He carefully sat up. 'HTML, I've got a headache.' Matty smiled forgiving and brushed his black hear out of his face. 'You've been out for quite some time. You really had me worried!'  
Andrew frowned. 'What happened? I remember walking in Floating Point Park, when I got a terrible pain in my head. Then I saw all these weird things.' He paused for a nano. Then he looked at Matty, thoughtfully. 'Do you know any data sprites in Mainframe called Xera, or Phong?'  
Matty looked at the ceiling, thinking. Then she shook her head. 'No, I don't think so. I do know a binome called Phong, I believe he was named after the Command.Com from the myth, you know, about the Matrix family?'  
Andrew nodded. Then his eyes grew large. 'Do you think there are files left on how the Principal Office looked in the past?' Matty shrugged. 'I think so. But why this interest, Andrew, what happened?' Matty sat down at his bed, and threw her long aqua hair back.  
'Do you want to tell me?' she asked gently. Andrew looked lost. 'I just don't know. Matty…. It's all so confusing!' Matty put her hand on Andrew's. 'If you don't want to tell me, I'm fine with it. Really. But you should get some rest now. Although the medical scans don't show anything, you must have caught something.'  
Andrew gave her a tired nod. Matty stroked his face again, with a loving smile on her face. 'I have some things to do this afternoon, so I'll be back tomorrow. And I'll see to the Principal Office files, okay?' Andrew smiled thankfully. 'I'm really glad I have you, Matty. I love you very much.' 'Me too, Andy.'  
Matty rose from his bed and, and he watched her walk to the door. Her back was bare, and he could see the faint scale pattern running down her back, over her tanned skin. Before she closed the door, Matty turned and smiled at him. 'Go back to sleep, Andrew. You need it…'

_ Andrew turned to his other side and sighed. Then, with a jerk, he opened his eyes. Again, he appeared to be in the medical sector of the Principal Office, but again it was different. He saw the differences very clearly now. The Icon-pictures weren't in 3D as they were in the Mainframe Principal Office he was in before, and the readout panels he saw here were definitely not as modern as the panels in the medical sector he knew.  
He sat up and looked around. The room he was in now was bigger, and more sprites were in it. Again, he saw the two sprites he had seen before. Again, they were walking towards him.  
'Xera, I tell you, something's infecting these Sprites. It's not just some random cold or anything. Although I haven't seen it before, I'm sure there's something unNetly about it.'  
The female sprite looked worried. 'Phong, I want to believe you're right. But what could it be? We've no way of knowing what else it could be, besides, there's nothing that could enter Mainframe other than through an Upgrade or a Game. And we both know that's impossible!'  
The sprite referred to as Phong shrugged. 'It is something not from Mainframe. Just trust me on that.' Xera gently took his hand. 'I do Phong. But just think, if it is something not from Mainframe, we're in for something. And it'll not be good!' Andrew reached for his head. He was so dizzy… He lay down again. To close his eyes, just for a nano…_

Andrew opened his eyes and looked into the face of one of the Mainframe doctors. In one hand he held a clipboard, in the other a syringe. 'Ah, our patient has woken up again.' Andrew put up a sick smile. 'Yeah.' 'You've been out quite some time, Andrew.' Andrew nodded. 'I thought so.' He paused for a moment. 'But I feel quite alright now.' The doctor smiled. 'You'll have to stay here this cycle. Since the scans don't show anything, you can go home first thing tomorrow. IF no strange things happen.'  
Andrew smiled, though he felt a little strange in his head. Could there be a chance the doctor knew that he had had these strange…. What where they anyway? Visions? Flashbacks? It weren't exactly thing's he'd seen before, but somehow everything seemed, well, familiar. As if he knew everything and everyone he saw. He sighed. He laid down his head and while his thoughts drifted of, he fell asleep again.

_ A group of seven data-sprites and two binomes sat at a round table, in a large, light room. Two of the sprites where the ones Andrew had seen in the Medical sector of the Principal Office, the rest was new to him. There were three male sprites and two female, and the two binomes, who both were male.  
They were all talking to each other, while they glanced in the direction of the door from time to time. Andrew caught pieces of the conversation, and it all seemed to concern the strange infection.  
Then, all of a sudden, the door opened and two more sprites came in. The first was female, with large golden eyes, a faint blue tinted skin and straight golden hair. The other was male, and his resemblance to the female sprite was striking. The only difference was that the male sprite's hair was somewhat more wavy, and one of the locks on his brow was bright silver.  
The two sprites seated themselves at the table with the others, who were all watching their every move. The two sprites looked at each other for a moment. Then the male sprite gave the female a little nod. She turned to the other sprites, and started to talk.  
'My dear friends, my brother and I are pleased to see all the members of the Principal Office council, and some guests, at that, together here today, although the reasons for this unplanned meeting are rather unpleasant. I think you have all heard from the strange thing that seems to be infecting the residents of Mainframe and her twincity.'  
All the sprites nodded.  
'I want to thank our medical advisors Phong and Xera for bringing it to our attention.' She paused for a moment. 'Maybe they can explain some things here?' She gave Phong a questioning look. Phong smiled and gave her a nod.  
'Thank you, Danae. Well, since three days, Sprites have been coming to the Medical Sector with symptoms we've never seen before.' 'They're weakened, and when we check their PID's, part of their code has often been affected.' Xera filled in. She looked around the table before continuing. 'We have little idea of what it could be, except that we suspect it to be not from Mainframe.'  
Most of the sprites gave Xera a puzzled look. One of them spoke their every thought.  
'How could it not be from Mainframe?'  
Phong and Xera shrugged at the same time, when the male sprite took up the word.  
'I think that question hits the very problem of this infection. We don't know what it's origin is, so we can do little about it.' One of the female sprites at the table timidly raised her hand. The female sprite Phong had called Danae gave her a nod. 'Go ahead, Karina.' The sprite gave her a nervous smile.  
'Since I work at in the lookup-section, I have access to the Principal Office scanners. Could it be an idea to scan Mainframe and the twincity for things that aren't registered?'  
The male sprite nodded. 'That could very well work, Karina. Please try as soon as possible.'  
All of a sudden, a vidwindow appeared at the centre of the table. There was a cream-skinned male sprite with burgundy hair on screen.  
'Danae, Kyle, you've got a call….' The sprite fell silent. Danae gave him an impatient look. 'Who is it, Randy, we're in a PO-council meeting. We haven't really got time for this…'  
The sprite on screen gave her a hurt look. 'I'm sorry, miss Command.Com, but it's someone I don't know. He's not from Mainframe OR the twincity. That's why I choose to bother you in a PO-council meeting.' He paused for a moment. 'You know that Danae, I'm working for you longer than today.' Danae gave him a nod. 'Fair enough. Put it on a vidwindow here, Randy. And thanks for noticing us.'  
Randy rolled his eyes and closed the window. Immediately another vidwindow popped up, and on screen was a rather blocky sprite, with short yellow hair and a greenish skin.  
'I'm the Super Computer's Prime Guardian, and speaking for the entire Guardian Directive, I want to welcome system Mainframe on the Net.' The sprite paused and looked around the table. 'Who's the Command.Com here?'  
Both Danae and Kyle stood up. 'We are.' The sprite on screen looked surprised. 'A shared position? How unusual. But anyway, we noted Mainframe as a new system on the Net, and we always welcome a new system.'  
Danae and Kyle looked at each other, and then gave the sprite a blank look.  
'The Net?' Danae said.  
'New system? What do you mean?' Kyle looked at the sprite, who sighed.  
'Okay, look here. There are more systems on the Net then yours. Oh no, wait. The Net is a huge network of systems that are all linked to one another. There are hundreds, maybe thousands of systems very much like Mainframe, some bigger, some smaller. And the centre of all those systems is the Super Computer. That's where the Guardian Directive is located.'  
Kyle nodded. 'So far, so good. What's the Guardian Directive, and who exactly are you?'  
The sprite sighed again. 'The Guardian Directive is an institution that trains sprites to defend a system. A sprite fully trained by the Guardian Directive becomes a Guardian, that should be capable of defending a system from Viruses, Games and other threats.  
I'm the Prime Guardian, the first to be trained and the first to have graduated. My name is Turbo.'  
Danae and Kyle nodded doubtfully. 'Okay. But that new system thing, mister Turbo, we weren't connected to anything before.' Kyle looked at the Prime Guardian. Turbo shook his head.  
'No, that's right. I reckon your User has chosen to link your system up with the Net.' Turbo inclined his head and sighed. 'Ah, the ways of the User are a mystery to us simple sprites. But since you are now connected to the Net, I must warn you for the things that can now enter your system through portals. Things like Viruses, and more dangerously, if you are also linked to the Web, Webcreatures. Because you are unaware of all these dangers, I'd like to offer you a Guardian. He can help you with defending your system.'  
Danae gave Kyle a sideways glance. 'I don't think we need protection, Prime Guardian. We are doing very well right now. But thanks for the offer.' Turbo gave her a suspicious look.  
'Whatever you wish, ma'am. But I would think it through before I'd make a definitive decision. But, as I said, It's your choice.'  
Danae and Kyle inclined their head simultaneously. 'Thank you, Turbo, but I think we'll stay with this.'  
Turbo shrugged. 'Whatever you want. I'll not take up any more of your time then. Maybe I'll hear again from you some time. In any case, we'll send you some info on Viruses. Watch them, folks. Farewell.'  
The vidwindow closed and the sprites were left alone in the large, light room in the Principal Office._

Andrew opened his eyes. His breathing had quickened a little, but he didn't feel all too bad. It was more as if he'd had a dream. But he knew it wasn't, it was another of those flashbacks.  
He looked at the clock that hung above the door of his room. It was late in the afternoon now. He laid back and thought about he flashbacks.  
They seemed to be connected somehow. He frowned. The first was in the Medical Sector, and he had "met" those two sprites, Phong and Xera. He saw them again in the second flashback. They were worrying about something infecting sprites. Then, in the flashback he'd just had, he saw them again, but now they were with more sprites, apparently some sort of council that ran Mainframe. He'd also seen the Command.Com, the two Command.Com's to be exact. Kyle and Danae… Those names must be somewhere…. He'd search for it as soon as he got out of the hospital. If everything was alright, Matty was looking for the Principal Office blueprints right now. He sighed. He just had to know if these flashbacks were really visions from the past. He did dream a lot, but somehow this felt different. He'd never been able to remember his dreams so clearly. Even now, he could see that Danae sprite as clear as if she stood before him. And it all felt……. Well, familiar. Especially Phong felt as if he know him.  
Andrew yawned. All these strange things made him do sleepy… He turned to his side and closed his eyes. He drifted peacefully into another "flashback"…

_ He was looking down on quite a peaceful scene. Three sprites were sitting in a sandpit, on a playground. One of them was quite young, maybe six or seven. She had green skin, black hair and large, violet eyes. His heart filled with love when he looked at this young sprite. 'Sis…'  
When he turned to the other sprites, he felt a shock of recognition. Then, immediately after that, again a deep love, but also great pain, a deep loss. 'Mum… Dad…'  
Andrew bit his tongue. His parents didn't even look like these sprites, and yet, he knew they were.  
The two sprites were fairly young adults, one male and the other female. The male sprite was quite tall, not that broad but pretty muscular. He had green skin and black hair, much like the young sprite. The female sprite had a very fine face, golden skin and red hair. She was staring at the child, while she let some sand run through her fingers.  
'We got a call from the PO-council this morning, James.' 'I know. Shane told me. I don't know exactly though. Dotty, don't put that in your mouth.'  
The child looked up and gave him a dazzling smile. 'I won't Daddy, don't worry.' She walked towards her parents and climbed onto her mother's lap. The woman embraced her and hugged her close. 'I love you, Dotty.' The child flung her arms around her mother's neck and kissed her on the cheek. 'I love you too, Mummy.'  
The man looked at them, smiling. He leaned back and rested his weight on his hands. 'Ferra, Dot, you're the two woman I love most in the entire Net.'  
That was reason enough for Dot to jump of her mother's lap and fling her arms around her father. 'I love you, Daddy.' 'And if a User passed by and said he'd like you, you'd say you'd love him too.' Ferra teased her. Dot gave her an accusing look.  
'Mum, you're teasing me.' she stated. Ferra smiled at her. 'So I do. And what are you gonna do about it?' Dot's face grew thoughtful. 'I think I need a plan for that…' James put her on the ground. 'Then build another sandcastle while thinking about it, okay?' Dot nodded and skipped of.  
James' face grew serious again. 'What was the call about, Ferra?' His wife made a face. 'Something about a Virus. I didn't even know what a Virus was, so Danae had to explain that to me first. But apparently the PO-council has decided that we, being Mainframe's head-scientists and all, should try to mix up a chemical of some sort, which they can use to delete the Virus as soon as Karina gets a fix on it with the scanners.'  
James nodded. 'Do they already know what the Virus is made up of?' Ferra shook her head. 'Nope. Them people from the Guardian Directive have pointed out a few possibilities, but we first have to see it, before we can do anything.' James nodded again. 'Well, let's hope that they find something quick, with a Virus in town things can only get worse. For all of us.'  
Ferra smiled at him and lay her hands on her somewhat swollen stomach. 'You, me and the little sprite?' James rolled his eyes, but leaned over and kissed her._

Andrew sighed and turned to his other side. He didn't open his eyes, but yawned and drifted into a deep, dreamless sleep.

He awoke at the sound of someone entering his room. It was the doctor again. 'It looks to me you're feeling a lot better. Andrew nodded. 'I do.'  
The doctor opened a vidwindow and looked over the readings. 'Hmmm….' Andrew frowned. 'Something wrong, doc?' The doctor smiled at him 'No, you're fine as far as I can see. Your pulse quickened a couple of times during the night, but there's nothing extraordinary.'  
The doctor gave him a comforting smile. 'You can go home this afternoon. If I were you, I'd try walking around the Med Sector this morning, so you're up and running by noon.'  
Andrew nodded. 'Okay. Thanks for all the good care.' The doctor smile again. 'Hey, I'm getting paid for it.' Andrew laughed. 'Yeah, you're right.'  
The doctor walked to the door. 'I'll come to see you this afternoon, and then you can go home. Take it easy this morning, Andrew.' Then he left the room.

Andrew spend his morning walking around the Med sector, as the doctor had advised him. He felt a little strange in his head, but he ascribed that to the fact he'd been in bed and either sleeping or out cold for about a day. When noon came and the doctor entered his room again, he felt much better. The doctor ran a few last tests, and then nodded.  
'You can go home.' Andrew gave him a happy look. 'Thanks.' They shook hands, and then the doctor left. Andrew started packing the few things Matty had brought him the day before, and when he was done, he walked out the door, towards the Principal Office RAM-section, where he hoped to find Matty.  
He walked past several sprites he knew, and he greeted them with a short wave or a few words. He could see that they were curious to hear what had happened, but he ignored their questioning looks. He really wanted to get to the RAM-section, to see if he could find anything that matched his "flashbacks".  
He entered the RAM-section, and walked in the direction of the history files. There was someone else in the history section, reading intensively, so the sprite did not notice him. It took Andrew a while to recognise the sprite as Matty.  
'Matty!' She turned, and when she saw Andrew, a happy smile appeared on her face. 'Andy! You're out of the Med sector!' She left the Vidwindow that showed some old file, ran towards him and threw her arms around his neck. She kissed him impulsively on the cheek, but he groaned. 'Matty, be careful…' Immediately, she let go and gave him a guilty look. 'Sorry.' He smiled. 'Just kidding, Matty, just kidding…' He put his arms around her and hugged her close. She threw her arms around his neck and kissed him full on the lips.  
It took them some time to part, and then Andrew gave her a loving smile. Then he let her go again, and she pulled him towards the file she'd left when he came in. 'Come over here, I want you to see this.'  
Andrew let his eyes drift over the text in the file, translating the ancient words as quick as he could. He nodded. 'Impressive. And you found this yourself?'  
Matty smiled and gave him a gentle slap on the back of his head. 'Don't you ever underestimate me, Andrew.'

**End part i…**

February 29th, 2000  
Now I know this took a long time, and I must say that I haven't finished yet. These six pages are just a first part, and I'm afraid this story will get much longer… I'll keep working on it, and hope that one day it'll be finished.  
Anyway, I hope you've notice some things, but in case you haven't, here are some thingies I build in: 

* First the names: Andrew v. AndrAIa and Matty v. Matrix ( I wanted to call Matty Matry at first, but I didn't quite like the sound of that. So Matty it became.) And of course the shortening of Andrew's name to Andy. It's a bit different in spelling from Andi, but hey, you pronounce it the same…

* And of course, how Andrew and Matty look. I hope it was clear that Andrew had quite some resemblance to Matrix, and that Matty looked really like AndrAIa.

* Then, Andrew's first flashback (could I call it a flashback? It's not really something he encountered before, is it?) We meet Phong and Phong's gonna-be wife, Xera, in the Principal Office, even before Dot and Enzo were born.

* In the second flashback, we encounter Phong and Xera again (it is a few years later), again in the Principal Office, but now they're worrying about something that infects the sprites. They've never heard of a virus, since Mainframe's not that old yet and hadn't been connected to any other computers.

* Third flashback: Mainframe leaders, the Command.Com's (Danae and Kyle), and the PO-council (including Phong and Xera) get a call from the Guardian Directive, who'd noted them as a new system in the Net. They offer the help of a Guardian, but Danae declines. Last on the call Turbo warns them for Viruses.

* Fourth flashback: Andrew 'meets' Ferra and James, the parents of Dot and Enzo. Dot is born, and at the moment, Ferra's pregnant. Andrew comes across them when they talk about the Command.Com's having asked them to think up some sort of chemical that'd destroy the Virus. In the first instant he sees Ferra and James, he calls them "mum" and "dad", although only a nano later he realises that they can never be his parents. Strange, huh?

* While having the "flashbacks" Andrew goes into a weird sort of state in the normal world. The first time he's out cold, the other times his breathing and heartbeat quicken.

* When out of the Medical Sector, Andrew's so pre-occupied with the flashbacks, that he doesn't even recognise Matty when he sees her…

  
Well, that's for the first part. I'll keep working on it, and I'll keep you posted, if you're so kind as to tell me what you think about it, okay? See ya!  
_**Indy**_


	2. part ii

Consequences of a Myth, ii

_**Consequences of a Myth, part ii**_

Andrew laid an arm around Matty's shoulders. 'I don't. Wouldn't. Ever. I'm impressed, really. Where did you find this, and how did you know it was something I needed to know? Your ancient languishes weren't that good the last time I checked.' Matty smiled. 'You did learn me some words, didn't you? She started to point out words in the text. 'Like Principal Office, Medical Sector, Command.Com, System Crash, reboot, Guardian, User. And when I find enough of those words in the same text, I know it might be something and I copy it.'  
Her fingers moved quickly over the vidwindow, and she opened more files, that also popped up on vidwindows. One of the windows showed a couple of intricate drawings. 'And look here. These are the blueprints you wanted. These are the eldest I could find, even before the time the Twincity was supposed to be destroyed.' She clicked several links in the file, and even more vidwindows popped up. They were all photo-like images.  
'These are photos linked to the blueprint file. I reckon they're photos of how the Principal Office used to look.'  
Andrew looked through the pictures. On most of them wasn't only the Principal Office interior, but also the sprites that happened to have been present the moment the picture was taken. He felt a shock when one of the pictures showed the large light room he'd seen that night, in one of the flashbacks. He shook his head.  
'Something wrong, Andrew? These were the things you were searching for, weren't it?' Andrew nodded. 'Yes, they are. You've done a wonderful job, Matty. Thanks a lot!' Matty smiled and kissed him on the cheek. 'Anything for you, lover.' She bend over and picked up a few things she'd laid on the ground.  
'I've got to go.' She made a face. 'I hate having so little time, especially now.' Andrew smiled at her. 'Don't worry love. I'll be okay.'  
Matty turned and walked out of the RAM-section, leaving Andrew to himself. He looked through the files again, copied what he thought would be useful into his organiser and then left too. He took his time to get home, walking instead of using his zipboard.  
When he put his hand on the plate next to the door of his apartment to identify himself, he got a strange feeling in his head. He took in a large gulp of air, and he brought his hand to his forehead when…

_ …he was suddenly standing in the large white room he'd been in before. Again the sprite's had gathered around the table. He saw the two sprites from the Medical Sector, and next to them sat the large green-skinned sprite with black hair and the golden-skinned sprite with the red hair he'd seen playing with the little girl sprite. All of them were looking seriously towards the two Command.Com's at the table's head. Kyle and Danae seemed to be waiting for something, and the entire group was waiting with them.  
Just when Kyle seemed about to say something, the door slammed open. The female sprite that had mentioned they could scan for the infecting "thing" came crashing in the room.  
"I, we,…" she took a deep breath. "It's confirmed! The scanners picked up an unknown signal in the Kits-sector. It's most likely to be the cause of the Sprite-infections."  
Under the table, James and Ferra got hold of each other's hands. Then James rose. "Requesting permission to leave the meeting and arrange the downfall of the Virus."  
Danae gave him a nod, smiling. "Approved." She paused. "Make it a good one, James."  
James, who was already at the door, turned around and smiled. Xera jumped from her seat. "I'm coming with you, James." James held the door open until she'd gone through, then followed her and softly closed it behind him._

For a nano, Andrew regained consciousness. He was standing in the kitchen, his head against the wall. Then his awareness in the Mainframe he knew faded to the background again.

_ Xera was watching James while he tied the zipboards to the bottom of the barrel that contained the chemical that should end the tyranny of the Virus. James checked the binds and then rose. "That should do it. When and where do we meet Ferra and Phong?" Xera pulled out an organiser and tapped a few keys. "In twenty nanoseconds, at the border between Kits and Floating Point Park. Halfway the Gilded Gate Bridge and the Principal Office."  
She looked at James, who sat down at a small chair. "I feel something bad is going to happen tonight, James, and I'm worried about it." James squinted at her.  
"Something bad? How do you mean?" Xera shrugged, a helpless gesture. "I don't know. I just feel a shadow looming over the evening. And it has to do with the Virus-business."  
James wrinkled his forehead. "I believe you." He said. "I don't feel comfortable about it either. I don't feel good about it, but I know we have to do it." Xera nodded. "Same here."  
They looked at each other for a moment. Simultaneously, they rose, walked towards each other and hugged. "Whatever happens…" Xera started. "…You will live as a dear memory." James finished the sentence. And as if they were suddenly frightened by what they'd said, they let go of each other. James checked his watch. "Almost time to go." Xera nodded.  
"You're one of my best students, James, if not the best. And Ferra comes a close second." She smiled. "Remember that." James turned towards the barrel containing the chemical. He fixed the lid on top, and then pushed a button on a nearby control panel. "Mister Matrix?" a voice came from the speaker in the control panel. "I'd like for you to summon the group of sprites that'll accompany Xera and me to the rendezvous-point, Shane. We'll be downstairs in a nano, and then I'd like them to be ready." "Acknowledged. They'll be ready, James." "Thanks, Shane."  
James turned to Xera again. "Let's go."_

Again, Andrew found himself back in his apartment for just a nano. This time, he was standing in the room. For the moment he regained his senses, he could feel his heart race, and he felt he was sweating like mad. Then, again, he faded into the awareness in the Mainframe of so long, long ago…

_ A group of sprites stood on the large causeway that ran between the Mainframe Principal Office and the Gilded Gate Bridge that was the connection to the Twincity. They stood facing the Kits-sector, in which the dreaded cause of the sprite-infections was located.  
Xera and Phong stood side by side with James and Ferra, and next to them stood Karina, who had thought of the idea of scanning the system, holding a hand sized scanner. Just aside them all stood the barrel with the chemical, guarded and held in place by several binomes. Phong moved about nervously. "Where are they?" He asked. Xera stepped towards him and rearranged the collar of his coat. "Give them a nano, dear. You know Kyle and Danae like to keep people waiting."  
Absentmindedly, Phong removed Xera's hands. "Now is not the time to let us wait. The safety of the system depends upon our success." Ferra nodded. "We know, Phong, and I'm sure they do too, but being late is a habit that's hard to delete." The golden skinned sprite smiled at the Sprite that'd been her teacher for so long. Phong rolled his eyes.  
Then another group of sprites approached from the Principal Office. It was the entire Principal Office council, some other data-sprites and binomes and the two Command.Com's. When they'd reached the group already standing on the causeway, Kyle and Danae stepped forward. "Sorry we're late." Danae said with a nervous smile. "Being late is a habit that's hard to delete." Kyle excused them. Ferra and Xera stifled a giggle.  
James took a deep breath. "It's time, then." He looked at Karina, who'd kept her eyes on the scanner during the conversation. She looked up and smiled. "I'll keep you posted of the position of the Virus. The last few nano's it's been at the same place, so first head for that place, and when it moves, I'll update." James nodded and turned to Ferra. "Let's go. The assembled sprites split up in several groups, some moving quicker then others, but all on the way to encircle the Virus.  
Phong, Xera, James and Ferra all moved in the same direction, accompanied by two binomes who led the barrel with the chemical the right way. Xera sighed, and she extended her hand towards Phong. He looked at her, then took her hand, and squeezed it for a moment. Then he let go again.  
James looked at his organiser. He had set up a link to a vidwindow that showed Karina, who was still looking at the scanner. "Has it moved yet, Karina?" The female sprite looked up and gave him a nervous smile. "No, it hasn't. The Virus is still at the same place. Do you need the co-ordinates once more?" James nodded. "Just to be on the safe side."  
When he got the co-ordinates, he checked them, and nodded. Then he turned to his companions. "We're now not far from the Virus anymore." He pointed to a house-block that stood not far from them. "At the moment, it's situated at the other size of that block. That size is hard to access because there are a lot of empty crates and more useless things standing there. Also, it's under a sort of scaffolding, so the entire area is in deep shadows." He paused. "The plan is to walk up to the Virus from two different sides, so it will only have one way out. It has to move away from the building, and when it does, we will drop the chemical on it so it will be deleted."  
Ferra laid a hand on his wrist. "We know, honey. We've been through it over and over again." James sighed, and then nodded. "Okay then. It's time. Xera, you go with Ferra, that way, around the block. Phong and I will go the other way, and take the chem-boys with us." He shot the binomes in charge of the chemical a smile. "You will get instructions when we're there." Everybody nodded, and they moved off in the directions James had pointed out.  
Ferra and Xera walked quietly. Soon they had made it around the block, and looked at the others, standing at the other side of the building. They were separated by an area with deep shadows. The place where the Virus hid.  
Ferra watched her husband through those shadows. A sad expression had settled on her face. Xera looked at her for a moment, and then laid her hand on Ferra's.  
"You feel it too, don't you?" Ferra nodded. "Something's going terribly wrong today, but I don't know what." Xera nodded one time. "James feels it, you feel it, I feel it, and I'm sure Phong feels it too, although he chooses to ignore it."  
Ferra gave her friend a sad smile. "If I won't see you anymore, remember that I care about you a lot." Xera smiled for a nano. "I feel the same way, Ferra. Good luck with Dotty and the little sprite." For a moment, Ferra blushed. Then she smiled, one hand on her belly. "I guess I've could've known you knew." Then she put her arms around her friend and hugged her.  
Then Ferra's organiser bleeped softly. She got it and looked at the familiar face of her husband. He smiled at her, a sad little smile. "You can start closing in from that side, Ferra." The red and gold coloured sprite nodded. "Until we meet again, James." With that she killed the connection.  
Together with Xera, she started walking towards the other side of the building, towards Phong and James, who had also started out. She heard James' voice over the "organisation" channel they'd set up. "You with that chemical, zip up a little higher. We want you to be a surprise!" She smiled. Leave it to James to get a thing carried out right.  
All of a sudden, one of the shadows started moving, dodging towards Xera, who'd walked closest to the building. Ferra froze in horror.  
The shadows took shape, looking like a black metal cat-sprite, only much, much larger, and with eyes that glowed a mad red.  
It had it's long metal claws extended, and without a sound it jumped at Xera. Ferra could see it's claws glide through her friends body, without much resistance. Xera coughed, and a fine rain of energy sprayed from her mouth.  
Ferra then heard several things at the same time.  
From the organisation channel came the voice from Karina. "James, it moved!"  
From the other side of the building came the horrified scream from Phong. "XERA!! No!!"   
From above her came the sound of something metallic, then the rush of some liquid.  
A huge gulf of brightly coloured chemical came from some point above her, and rolled over the Virus and it's unlucky victim.  
At the sight of that, Phong screamed again. A scream filled with the unbearable sound of loosing the one thing you love most in the entire Net._

Once more, Andrew found himself back in his apartment. He sat on the couch, his breathing heavy and quick, his pulse racing. He felt a pain on his head, and when he touched the spot with his fingertips, he found an already dried wound on his forehead. He let out a shivering sigh. What had become of him?  
He was startled by the sound of the doorbell. A Vidwindow popped up in front of him, and on it was Matty. 'Hi Andrew, I thought I'd…' Her voice died as she looked at him, enquiring.  
'Is something wrong, Andrew? You don't look good, and you… Dear User! What's that wound on your head?' Andrew sighed. 'Just come in, Matty. Don't stay out in the cold.'  
That got him another weird look. 'It's been the warmest day in a long time, Andrew. She gestured to something he couldn't see. 'The cybersparrows are almost falling of the roofs!'  
'Don't get smart on me. Just come in.' Matty shrugged and stepped through the door.  
When she reached the living-room, she saw Andrew sitting on the couch. His head leaned back, and he had his eyes closed. She walked to the couch and sat down next to him, laying a hand on his knee. He sat up with a jolt, his hand reflexively raised, on the very brink of hitting her.  
'USER!' Matty shoved back in terror. 'Andrew, it's me!' Andrew relaxed, recognising his girlfriend. 'Matty… Sorry…'  
'My User…' she gasped. 'What is happening with you, Andrew?' She slowly shook her head. Andrew did the same, helplessly shrugging. 'I don't know… I just don't know, Matty. These past day's have been so weird.'  
Matty sat back, still trying to catch her breath again. 'You're telling me…' Then she seemed to remember something. 'Does it have anything to do with those things you asked? About the Matrix-Myth and the twin city?'  
Andrew shrugged. 'Maybe… I don't know… I really don't understand…' He sighed. 'I think I'm going to sleep for a while. I don't feel very good.' Then he shuffled out of the room, leaving Matty at her own, dumbstruck.  
After a few moments, she walked to the door and let herself out, confused…

The next day, Matty walked on her own through Floating Point Park. The slow waving of the trees relaxed her a little, and the distant quacking of the cyberducks in the datalake nearby helped to calm her troubled mind.  
She slowly walked through the park, considering and reconsidering what happened the last few days, since Andrew had been admitted in the hospital. What had happened? She recalled their meeting in the RAM-section yesterday. She'd looked up for a moment when she heard someone enter, but it hadn't been until he had said her name she'd recognised Andrew. The person that she'd seen when she looked up had not looked like her friend. And what had happened that same afternoon proofed it. Andrew had changed.  
She still felt shivery when she thought back. He almost hit her! Then a great sorrow fell over her when she remembered how he had left her sitting in the room on her own, still trembly at what had happened.  
_You're not the same, and I'm loosing you…_ She thought. _If something doesn't happen very soon, I'll loose you…_  
Whereas that thought scared her, she got out the bag of breadcrumbs and started feeding the ducks.

Andrew'd decided to stay at home for another day before going to work again. The wound on his forehead had dried now, and a sizeable scab had formed. Although he still felt tired, he sat on his couch, browsing through the files he'd got from the RAM-section of the Principal Office.  
Just then his eye caught a piece of text in one of the documents. "Twincity" it said. It only took him a moment to scroll to the beginning of the text.  
"During the night" it said, "the twincity of our precious Mainframe has been destroyed by an explosion in the Science Laboratories…" The words drifted to the edges of his conscious as he…

_…found himself in the company of the green-skinned girl sprite he'd seen before, then in the company of Ferra and James. She was quite a bit older now though.  
He was sitting with her in an apartment of some sort. In between them lay a boardgame, and when he looked at it he recognised it as Monopoly. His sister's pawn was just at Baudway, one of the streets he owned.  
"Haha," he said, "Dot, you're on my Baudway. I've got two living quarters, so that makes three thousand units.' His sister sighed and gave him her last three notes of a thousand units. He'd won the game. While they put away the game, Dot turned to him. "Shall we call Mum and Dad before we go to sleep?" He nodded. "But I get to call. I won the game." His sister smiled, something that filled him with love. "All right then. You do know how to call don't you? I don't want you to mess up my files!"  
He gave her an angry look. "Of course I know how to call." After dialling the number of the Lab department, he got his mother's face in focus._

FERRA'S face. He reminded himself, his mind momentarily touching the embers of consciousness. She wasn't his mother! His mother looked completely different!

_"Hi Enzo! How nice you call!" He smiled. His mother was such a sweet thing. He loved her more then anything. "Hi Mum. How's the experiment coming along?" His mother made a face. "Well, the preparations are almost finished. Just a few nano's and we'll be able to execute the real thing." "Okay. I love you Mum. Here's Dot."  
He handed the organiser to his sister. "Hi Mum. Is everything going according to plan?" His mother again made a face. "Yes, sort of. It's not too bad. Don't worry Dotty. I have to go now. Remember, I love you, and Daddy loves you too. Wherever we are. Bye now!"  
Ferra disconnected so soon that they had no time to answer. A little confused, he looked at his sister. After a moment, she shrugged. "Oh well. Come on Enzo, it's time to go to sleep."  
He nodded, and followed his sister into the bedroom, unable to shake of the feeling something bad was going to happen._

'Enzo!'  
With a shock, he awoke. He blinked and rubbed his eyes. 'What is it, Dot?' His sister was standing in front of the window, her eyes large and unbelieving, in terror. He jumped from his bed and ran to the window. There was a light coming from the Labs, a very bright light, and as they looked, it made a pulse, and then exploded.  
Shocked, he felt his sister throw his to the ground, shielding him with her own body, when the sound of the blast reached his ears. Only a nano later, he heard a multitude of small, hard fragments clatter against the window.  
For a moment, the room filled with a bright light, then it grew darker then ever.  
Dot reluctantly rose, and he followed her lead. She looked out of the window, her face showing fear. He saw her turn her gaze to the Twincity, and as he looked in the same direction, involuntarily his lip began to tremble and tears appeared in his eyes. All the lights were gone.  
He extended his hand to Dot, and he felt her take it. Then his sister's legs started to tremble, and she fell on her knees on the floor. With tears streaming from her eyes, she released his hand and screamed.  
'No! NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!'

'NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!! No!' His cries faded into sobs, as he sank to his knees. 'Mum… Dad…' Tears streamed over his cheeks. Then he felt a hand on his shoulder and he became aware of two pair of strong hands quite firmly holding his arms.  
'Calm now. It's all over.' Slowly he got back to the present. He felt the grip on his arms relax. He opened his eyes, and suddenly felt embarrassed. He was sitting in front of the door of the people living a floor beneath his, and was being held by the sprite living there, and his neighbour. The hand now on his shoulder belonged to a police-binome. He'd had another flashback in front of all these people. Apparently, he'd started wandering through the building.  
At the very moment, a familiar shape appeared on the corridor. It was Matty. 'Ah, there you are, Miss Matty. We called you ASAP.' Matty nodded. 'Thanks a lot. I came as soon as I heard.' She gave Andrew a worried look. 'Are you alright again?' He nodded. 'Can we go to my place again? Please?' Matty nodded. She turned to the sprites living in the apartment. 'If there's anything really damaged, tell us and we'll replace it.' The male sprite smiled. 'That's okay.' He turned to Andrew. 'Just get better, Andy.' Andrew nodded, still a bit senseless.  
Matty guided him up to his own apartment, through the door and onto the couch. She didn't say a word all the way upstairs. Now she gave him a stern look.  
'And now I want to know. There's obviously something going on, and I don't think you can hide it from me any longer.' He sighed quietly and bowed his head. 'First tell me what happened?' Matty seemed to soften a little. 'You waltzed out of your apartment, went downstairs, started smashing their door to bits, all while screaming something about your parents.' She paused. 'There's nothing wrong with them, is there?'  
He shook his head. 'Not these parents anyway.' He made a gesture with his head to the picture of his parents that stood on a nearby table. Matty sat down next to him, laying a hand on his knee. 'Then tell me what's going on.'  
He nodded. 'I've… I've been seeing these weird things lately. Since that day in Floating Point Park actually. First, they only happened when I was asleep. I saw people and things, and they all seemed to be in the past somehow, you know, really long ago, even before the twincity was destroyed.' He shuddered when he thought back to his latest flashback. His parents… Gone…  
Matty squeezed his knee, and he continued. 'I think I've been seeing the history of Mainframe. It started even before we were linked to the Net, and slowly but surely, I'm making my way through time to the present.' He stopped to look at Matty.  
'You think I've gone crazy, don't you?' Her face expressed worry, concern. 'Not really. Maybe a bit. You've changed, Andy, and I'm worried about you.' 'Even after today?' She smiled a little. "Especially after today.' She paused. 'I think you should look for someone to help you. Mentally, I mean.'  
Andrew nodded, thoughtfully. 'I'll think about it.' Matty shook her head, displaying authority once more. 'No. You won't think about it, you'll just do it.'

The following day, Matty and Andrew were sitting in the office of their Command.Com. Andrew had just laid out what had happened, and the Command.Com, an elderly sprite named Zeran, who, Andrew noted now, bore quite some resemblance to Phong, was looking thoughtfully though several files he'd opened on vidwindows. 'Hmmmm…' Andrew and Matty both looked at him intently. 'Hmmm…'  
'Do you know something to help him?' Matty evidently couldn't stay silent any more. Zeran looked up, adjusted his glasses and cleared his throat. 'Ahum. Well, children, I'll be fair with you. In my entire life as a Command.Com, I've never encountered anything like this. Do not fear however. I will contact a colleague in another system, who may very well know an explanation, and a cure. If you will step outside for a nano, I will call her.'  
Matty and Andrew rose, and retreated into the hallway. Andrew sighed. 'I don't know about this, Matty. Are you sure he'll find something?' Matty nodded. 'Believe it or not, our Command.Com is very smart. He may not look like it, but I'm sure he'll find something.'  
The Command.Com himself was not so confident, however. He sat thinking for a little while, before he contacted his colleague, a female Comand.Com named Tiarri. They went way back together, and she was the only one he could think of that wouldn't start laughing before he was done telling. Sighing, he dialled Tiarri's number. It took only a nano before a creamish white sprite with silver hair appeared on his screen. 'Principal Office, this is Tiarri. Hey, Zeran! That' been a long time!' Zeran smiled. 'I know. Say, I got a problem, and I figured maybe you could help me.' 'Blurt it out.' 'Well, it concerns a sprite living here in Mainframe…'

Andrew sat down at his dining table and dialled the number Zeran'd giving them. Matty sat down at his side. 'Principal Office, this is Tiarri.' 'Um, Tiarri, I got your number from my Command.Com, Zeran, and…' 'I know. You must be Andrew?' Andrew nodded. Tiarri leaned closer to the vidwindow. 'The truth is, Andrew, that we've never encountered something exactly like your case. The only thing I can think off was the case of some girl sprite, somewhere in my dim past…' Andrew flinched noticeable at those words. Tiarri noticed it and frowned, but kept talking. '…who claimed that she had dreams of a past life.' Tiarri paused. 'In some circles it is believed that sprites have more then one life. Anyway, this girl's life got ruled over by her past life. All she could think of was who she used to be, and what she used to do. On a certain moment, she came to me, and we decided that she'd write everything down that happened in her dreams. At some point, she detached herself from her past life and could get on with the one she had right then.' Andrew looked at the white-and-silver sprite. 'Are you saying you want me to write down what I encounter in those flashbacks?' Tiarri nodded.  
'Sort of. I'd like you to write down the story. Zeran told me it's history. The story of Mainframe?' Andrew nodded, and wondered what else the two Command.Com's had discussed about him. 'I'd like you to write down the entire story. Start from the moment you had your first flashback, and work towards the present. Would you do that?' 'Is it certain it will help?' Tiarri shook her head. 'No. But I've good hopes.' Andrew gave her a nod. 'Fine. I'll start now.' 'Good luck.' With that, Tiarri killed the connection.

===== 8-5-2000  
Yay! Finally I got the second part finished! We're moving towards the end now, people! I think I've only one part to go now. And I promise this one won't take another five months. :-)  
Well, down to business then:

***** Andrew's first flashback in part ii. A rather long one, that consists of three parts. In the first, we're once again in the room where the PO-council gathers. They're waiting for Karina, who then rushes in with the news they found the Virus. James and Xera then leave to ready everything for deleting it.  
In the second, Xera and James are in the Labs, preparing. They both sense something's going to go wrong, and say an emotional good-bye. Then they leave for the rendezvous point.  
In the last part, we see how the Virus is deleted. The cost is high though. Xera is killed by the Virus just before they delete it. Before that, Ferra and she also say goodbye. Xera wishes her luck with Dot and "the little sprite", which points to the then still unborn Enzo.

***** Andrew's second flashback. He's seeing through Enzo's eyes, the night the Twincity was destroyed. He's sleeping over at Dot's who lives in Mainframe. Their parents were going to execute an experiment, but it fails horribly. Enzo is awakened in the middle of the night by Dot, who's looking out of the window, and so sees the Twincity explode…

Hey, only two flashbacks in this part! However did I do that? Oh well…  
***** During part two, Andrew's condition during the flashbacks deteriorates. In the first part, he only has his heartbeat and breathing quickened, but now he starts "waltzing around" (as Matty puts it) and starts hurting himself and breaking down things, like when he goes downstairs and almost breaks down the neighbours door.

***** Andrew's still preoccupied with what's happening to him. When Matty come to visit him, he's totally unaware of the weather in Mainframe, and by then time she's inside, he's forgotten she came and nearly hits her. Then he just leaves her, without explaining or even really talking to her.

***** Matty has the idea Andrew's changed. She didn't recognise him when he entered the RAM-section in the first part, and it clearly wasn't him when he almost hit her. She's afraid she might lose him if it goes on like that.

***** Finally, after the second flashback, Matty demands Andrew goes to see someone. They go to the Command.Com (Who looks like Phong. What a coincidence!) and he referred them to a friend of his, a Command.Com from another system, Tiarri, who suggests Andrew writes down what he's encountered. He promises to do that, and they hope that'll help.

So far for that. Part ii is officially finished! I hope you liked it.  
_**Indy**_


End file.
